1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle seat rest improved by having a rectangular frame therein which has running across the same in the direction of a vehicle shoulder safety belt a rigid cross-stay joining one portion of the rectangular frame to a diagonally opposed portion. More especially, this invention relates to a vehicle seat rest with a rectangular frame and a shoulder belt, which belt is fastened at one end toward the top thereof and runs obliquely across the rest to a belt lock. This invention is concerned with an improved vehicle seat rest which reduces the likelihood of neck injury in the event of a side crash of a vehicle within which the vehicle seat rest is contained.
1. Discussion of the Prior Art
Vehicle seat rests having shoulder belts which are attached to the upper section of the seat rest and run obliquely across a passenger, to be connected to a belt lock at a lower portion of the seat diagonally therebelow, are known. The shoulder belt is in this case fastened to the corner point region of the rest and runs obliquely across the rest to the belt lock, which is, for example, fastened to the seat. These known seat rests must as a rule be constructed to be so firm that in the case of a frontal crash, they do not deform under the influence of the forces exerted on the fastening points of the belts. Thereby the seat rest becomes too rigid and unyielding for side crashes. It is in these side crashes that heavy neck injuries can arise due to the shoulder belt and the movement imparted to the occupant against the belt. The material effort is, moreover, relatively great in the case of these prior art vehicle seat rests.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat rest of the initially described type which is improved so that it is adequately rigid to handle frontal crashes and yet is yielding to an exactly determinable extent in the case of a side crash. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide such an improved vehicle seat rest whereby the material employed to improve the same is relatively small.